Trump Profits from Attack on Syria: He Owns Shares in Company that Built the 59 Tomahawk Missiles

While the world is dealing with both the implications and the fall-out from President Donald Trump's missile attack on a Syrian airfield on Thursday, the manufacturer of the Tomahawk missile used in the attack is seeing their stock surge which is good news for their investors -- including the Donald Trump. While the attack did little damage, investors -- sensing an increasing escalation in tensions and the possibility of a widening war -- pushed Raytheon stock up and, thereby, increasing Trump's wealth.

Trump's Attack on Syria Very Good for His Shares in Missile-maker RaytheonDonald Trump Personally Profited from
Raytheon's Stock Jump after His Syria Attack Tom Boggioni / Raw Story

WASHINGTON (April 8, 2017) -- While the world is dealing with both the implications and the fall-out from President Donald Trump's missile attack on a Syrian airfield on Thursday, the manufacturer of the Tomahawk missile used in the attack is seeing their stock surge which is good news for their investors -- including the president.

As noted by the Palmer Report, Trump owns stock in Raytheon, which was reported by Business Insider in 2015.

According to Trump's financial disclosure reports filed with the FEC in 2015, his stock portfolio includes investments in technology firms, financial institutions and defense firms, including Raytheon.

On Thursday, Trump launched an attack on the al-Shayrat military airfield, used by both Syrian and Russian military forces, hitting it with 59 Tomahawk missiles manufactured by Raytheon. Trump's attack on Syria was reportedly in response to a deadly gas attack launched by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against his own people earlier in the week.

While the Tomahawk attack did little damage to the airfield -- with the Syrian air force continuing to launch assaults from the same base on Friday -- investors, sensing an increasing escalation in tensions between two countries and the possibility of war, pushed Raytheon stock up.

Since taking office, Trump has refused to divulge all of his financial information -- including his income taxes -- and refused to place his business and financial holdings in a blind trust allowing Trump and his family to move money and investments around as they see fit.

(April 7, 2017) -- Donald Trump's financial entanglements have been the focus of consistent controversy since he took office. He claimed he was putting his assets in a "blind trust" which was later revealed not to be one (source: Chicago Tribune). He's also been accused of using his office to enrich his hotels. But we've now reached the phase where Trump has ordered military action which has given direct financial benefit to a company that he owns stock in.

Last night Donald Trump fired fifty-nine Tomahawk missiles at a Syrian air base. But according to the Washington Post (link), they were a poor choice of weaponry under the circumstances, because Russia has S-400 surface to air defense technology in place in Syria which could easily have shot them down.

In addition, Reuters is reporting that the Syrian air base was barely harmed (link), and is already back to operational capacity today, because the Tomahawks were aimed at the least important targets on the base.

This means that Trump went with the wrong weaponry when he ordered the Tomahawk attack (his military advisers would have explained this to him), and he used the missiles merely put on a show for TV viewers at home, rather than doing any real damage.

In other words Trump just set a bunch of Tomahawk missiles on fire which, according to a recent Defense Department report (link), may have been worth as much as $93.8 million in total. Why would he do this? Well, he does own shares of stock in the company that makes the Tomahawks.

Tomahawk missiles are manufactured by Raytheon Inc., and according to this report from Business Insider, Donald Trump owned stock in Raytheon up through at least the start of the presidential election cycle. There is no record that he subsequently sold that stock.

The Tomahawks that Trump just burned up will have to be replaced, meaning he just handed a nearly hundred million dollar payday to a company he owns stock in. Not surprisingly, shares of Raytheon spiked today, meaning he's directly profiting from his Syria attack. And again, it appears the Tomahawks were not the ideal choice of weaponry for the Syria attack.Here's What's in Donald Trump's Stock Portfolio Hunter Walker and Myles Udland / Business Insider

(July 22, 2015) -- Donald Trump's personal financial disclosure report, which was filed as part of his presidential campaign on Wednesday, contains fairly detailed information about what's in his stock portfolio.

And in short, it's a lot of stuff.

The report, which was released by the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday, names companies Trump has stock in and identifies the banks that handle his portfolio. However, it doesn't provide exact information about the value of Trump's investments.

According to the report, Trump's stock portfolio is worth between somewhere between $33.4 million and $87.9 million. The gap between the two numbers is so wide because the FEC only requires presidential candidates to list their holdings within broad ranges.

Trump's stock holdings are held in accounts with Barclays, Oppenheimer, JPMorgan, and Deutsche Bank, according to the disclosure. The Barclays account includes investments in 32 entities and cash worth between $49,021 and $396,001.

Trump reported having stock in two accounts at Deutsche Bank that contain cash, treasury bills, and stock in 173 entities. The disclosure report said his two accounts with Deutsche Bank are worth between $21,725,129 and $51,595,016.

In his account with Oppenheimer, Trump has cash and 31 positions worth between $10,380,031 and $33,301,000. At JPMorgan, Trump has one account with stock in 60 firms worth between $1,251,008 and $2,617,000.

According to the report, Trump's investments cross a wide spectrum of industries, with technology companies, financial firms, defense contractors, and energy are all represented in his portfolio. Trump also owns stock in many well-known companies including Apple, Nike, Whole Foods, Google, Philip Morris, Raytheon, Facebook, and Morgan Stanley, among others.

In a statement released July 15, the day he filed the report, Trump's campaign said it would show his net worth is "in excess of TEN BILLION DOLLARS." That statement acknowledged the financial disclosure would not fully detail Trump's fortune as it "was not designed for a man of Mr. Trump's massive wealth."

Forbes currently estimates his net worth at $4 billion. On Wednesday, the Wall Street Journal reported the personal financial disclosure shows Trump has assets worth at least $1.5 billion. The newspaper said this includes "over 500 entities in which he is a trustee, president, chairman or member" and 391 of those entities are named with the word "Trump" or his initials.